


I'm the satellite, you're the sky

by thunderingskies



Series: I will love you through simple and the struggle [8]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Recovery, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 05:52:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10633578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderingskies/pseuds/thunderingskies
Summary: They might have lost against Karasuno, but that doesn't mean that Iwaizumi and Oikawa are done with volleyball.At least, that is until an injury turns their world upside down, and Oikawa just isn't sure anymore what's most important to him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pussycat_scribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pussycat_scribbles/gifts).



> Here it is, my gift for the Iwaoi gift exchange! I hope that you enjoy!

They lost. It’s their final year of high school at Aoba Josai and they  _ lost _ .

Hajime still isn’t quite sure how to feel. 

He knew that Karasuno was a strong opponent and that it was going to be a struggle - but he never actually expected them to lose.

However, he supposes that that’s how every athlete feels. Because if you go into it expecting to lose, you kind of already have. 

He looks over at Oikawa, who’s walking home next to him. After their bus ride back to school the rest of the team went their separate ways, but he and Oikawa walk home together, like always. They only live a few streets apart, after all.

Oikawa is uncharacteristically silent. He looks lost in thought - he’s probably going over all of their plays, thinking about that set - the  _ last set _ of his high school career, the one that couldn’t land a point.

Hajime nudges him with an elbow to get his attention and end that train of thought. He hates seeing Oikawa look so lost. “Hey, Oikawa.”

Oikawa stumbles at the touch, surprised; he takes a step off track and winces, immediately drawing the weight from his right leg.

“What?” Oikawa hisses, grumpily, quickly correcting his gait back to how it normally is.

“Hey, is your knee hurting-”

“It’s  _ fine, _ ” Oikawa shakes his head, “I’m not made of glass, Iwa-chan. You just surprised me is all.” He grumbles, looking away, letting out an annoyed huff. “I was busy thinking about how much I’m going to enjoy crushing Ushiwaka-chan next year when we’re playing in university.”

Lying has never been Oikawa’s strong suit, and Hajime feels that one a mile away - but he lets this go, for now.

“Fine,” Hajime shrugs it off, “But you’d better not stay up until midnight watching the recordings of the game today.”

Oikawa looks over at him, trying to look passive. “Of course I won’t.”

Hajime scoffs. “Hand them over.”

“I won’t!” Oikawa stands back, defensive.

“Hand them over, Oikawa.” Hajime holds out his hand and listens to the loudest, most exaggerated groan to ever leave Oikawa Tooru’s mouth, but he hands over the discs. They keep going, Oikawa grumbling the entire time, but Hajime’s not relenting.

When they get to the fork in the road in which they part ways, Hajime says goodbye like usual, but he stops to watch Oikawa walk off down his own street.

When he thinks Hajime is gone, he cuts the act, falling back into his limp, stumbling down the road and to his house. He stops to catch his breath at the gate before limping up to his door.

Hajime contemplates following after him, but decides to give him his space, for now.

Oikawa’s just going to yell at him until he goes home, not wanting to be bothered in his post-game downtime.

It’s fine.

It’s probably not a big deal… right?

* * *

Hajime knows that something is wrong when Oikawa doesn’t meet him outside of their school first thing in the morning.

It’s been their routine ever since they started high school three years ago - they meet at the front gates, where Hajime glares at Oikawa every time he stops to talk to one of his fangirls, and they walk into school together. They have almost identical schedules, so there isn’t much time during the day in which they’re apart. 

It works out well, really. Hajime helps Oikawa with his math, and Oikawa can explain their English assignments to Hajime. They pick up where the other leaves off, in many places.

Hajime stands outside the gates and waits until first bell rings, but there’s no sign of Oikawa. His fangirls look confused, but mill around until one of them finally suggests they head inside.

He sends him a text,  _ where are you? _ but receives no answer.

When second bell rings, signaling that he’s late for class, he finally heads in and to their first class. 

Oikawa doesn’t show up all day.

At lunch time, he texts him another handful of times - but they all go without answer. He’s starting to really get annoyed when he drops down to sit with Hanamaki and Matsukawa for lunch.

Hanamaki looks at him curiously. “You look different today.”

“What?” Hajime looks up, annoyed, unwrapping his lunch.

Matsukawa hums in agreement. “Yeah… I agree... Did you cut your hair?”

Hajime stares at him like he has two heads. “ _ What? _ ”

“No, no,” Hanamaki shakes his head, “It’s more than that. It’s more like… You didn’t, I don’t know, lose a limb, or something?”

“ _ What?” _ Now he’s just getting more annoyed. What the fuck are they going on about today?

“Oh!” Matsukawa snaps his fingers in realization. “Oh, Oikawa’s not here. That explains it.” 

Hajime punches him from across the table, and Hanamaki just about falls out of his seat from laughing so hard. Hajime tries to punch him, too, but he dodges and stays just out of his reach, snickering wildly. Asshole.

Hanamaki swallows back his laughter, “In all seriousness though, where is he?”

Hajime shrugs, picking at his lunch, suddenly not feeling very hungry. “I don’t know. He hasn’t answered any of my texts.”

Matsukawa rubs his arm where Hajime had punched him. “Sick, maybe? I don’t know, he seemed okay yesterday.” 

Hajime feels like he’s swallowed lead. “No… he didn’t.” He pushes away his lunch. He can’t eat it anymore.

“Whaddya mean?” Hanamaki tilts his head to the side, confused.

With a sigh, Hajime checks his phone again. No message. “He… I think he hurt himself in that game. Badly.” His stomach twists. “He was limping when we walked home. He insisted that he was fine, but…”

“He did land on his bad knee… Pretty hard, too…” Matsukawa hums, looking off, pensive.

None of them finish their lunches.

 

The end of the day cannot come fast enough. 

Hajime all but races out of school as soon as the bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Rather than take his usual path home, he turns down Oikawa’s street, making his way up the familiar driveway of Oikawa’s house.

It’s a little bit smaller than Hajime’s home, but it’s just Oikawa and his mom, so they don’t need as much space. He stops at the front door, knocking once.

No answer.

He tries the door - fingers crossed - happy when it opens beneath his hand. Oikawa  _ always _ forgets to lock the door when he stays home for the day. 

It’s quiet inside, and Hajime doesn’t bother announcing that he’s here. He kicks off his shoes, padding up the stairs in his socks, heading straight for Oikawa’s room. He stops right in front of his door, pausing to listen.

He can hear the television playing, so he knows he’s in there, and bursts right in. 

He really shouldn’t have.

Oikawa’s curled up in his bed, turned away from Hajime, watching the television that’s mounted to his wall. At the sound of the door he turns his head quickly, and Hajime can see how red his face is, presumably from crying.

But what’s most surprising is the huge brace fitted around his right leg. This is nothing like the usual sports brace that he normally wears - it’s large, straps both above and below his knee, keeping his movements very limited. When Oikawa shifts, he winces in pain, turning to adjust his leg back to where it was before.    
“Oikawa?” He says, a little incredulously. His anger is fizzling away, concern slipping in instead.

Oikawa huffs, trying to hide his pain behind his annoyance. “Obviously, Iwa-chan. I know that I didn’t spend an hour putting myself together today, but it’s still  _ me. _ ” He looks away, chewing on his lower lip. 

Hajime steps in, and Oikawa watches him walk right up to his desk, dragging his chair next to his bed and sitting himself down in it. He eyes Oikawa’s brace, but one glance at Oikawa’s face begs him  _ don’t ask. _

So he doesn’t.

“Are you watching this again?” He asks, looking at the television, where that same documentary they’d watched last week is playing again. “Once wasn’t enough?”

Oikawa looks surprised, but his expression morphs into one that’s more calm almost immediately. “I liked it, Iwa-chan. You can’t tell me that you’re not interested in this! These people live alone in the middle of nowhere!”

Hajime chuckles. “Fine, it’s good, but I was thinking we could play a game, or something?” 

Oikawa nods, looking relieved. He shifts, but winces again. 

“I’ll pick today,” Hajime supplements, getting up to browse through Oikawa’s collection, organized alphabetically on his bookshelf. “It’s easy to pick since you’re so damn specific about how it’s all organized.”

He hears a disgruntled groan from behind him, and he relaxes a little at it. He picks out a game, setting himself down, and they play. 

They don’t talk much, really. The usual banter, which is nice, and when they’re hungry, Hajime offers to go and get some snacks. He disappears down to Oikawa’s kitchen, which is as familiar to him as his own. He grabs a few things for them to eat, only stopping to text his own parents to let them know he’ll be home late.

He doesn’t want to leave at least until Oikawa’s mom gets home. 

When he gets back upstairs, Oikawa is looking nervous again, picking at his nails.

“Oikawa?” He asks, sitting back down in his chair, putting the plate of snacks on his bed. “...Hungry?” Oikawa nods, and picks up some food, eating it hungrily.

Of course he didn’t eat until now. The idiot.

In between bites, Oikawa keeps looking up at Hajime. He looks like he wants to talk, but doesn’t know how to start. Eventually, he just spits it right out. “I tore my ACL.” 

Hajime halts, looking up from the food to Oikawa’s face. He looks  _ scared. _

“I… I might need reconstructive surgery.” He looks down, and picks at another bit of food. “The doctor… said we’ll try rehab… but that the tear was bad… and it’s really unstable.”

Hajime feels his blood run cold. He knew, he knew, he  _ knew _ -

“I’m… I’ve got an appointment with the physiotherapist tomorrow after school. Will you… come with me?” He asks, tentatively, looking up again.

Hajime doesn’t hesitate when he answers. “Of course I will.” He gets an idea, then. “But you have to promise you’ll come to school tomorrow.”

* * *

Oikawa huffs, standing in front of his mother’s car the next day. Hajime’s standing next to him - he walked over to  _ make sure _ he went to school - but Oikawa’s having a Mexican standoff with his mom.

Hajime already knows who is going to win, but he lets them hash it out anyway.

“Mom, I  _ don’t _ need a ride to school-”

“Yes, honey, you do.”

“I need to  _ work it-” _

“I’ll let the physiotherapist decide that.  _ Tonight _ . Now stop complaining, because I’m not letting you walk.” She gives him a serious look, which Oikawa tries his best to return it.

Hajime could laugh, they’re so similar. They even have the same soft brown hair and intense eyes.

Finally, Oikawa gives in. “ _ Fine, _ ” he groans, hobbling close enough to her car, basically chucking his crutches in the back seat. He’s still unhappy that he needs them - the doctor assured him he’d be able to stop soon into therapy, but that it’s best to use them in the interim to not strain it any more than necessary. 

He hates it, but he also doesn’t want to damage his knee any more than it already is, so he uses them. With annoyance.

Oikawa throws Hajime a look, and he reads it with ease- he climbs into the back seat next to him, shutting the door. They don’t talk on the ride to school, just listening to the radio, and Hajime tries not to focus on how nervous Oikawa is. He’s picking at his nails, a few of his nail beds already red and irritated-

“You can stop here, mom. If you get too close, you’re going to be stuck in traffic all morning.” Oikawa pipes up, tapping at the window, wanting to get out.

“Are you sure?” She looks to the backseat, and looks at Hajime instead of Oikawa for a more trustworthy opinion. Oikawa groans.

“Yeah, we’re close enough.” Hajime throws Oikawa a bone, and they amble out of the car. 

Hajime knows just how great the day is going to be when they walk to up to the front gates, and Oikawa completely ignores his fangirls, grumpily hobbling past them on his crutches without so much as a word.

They all look to Hajime, confused. He accepts the treats they’ve baked him, tucking them away in his bag for now. He knows Oikawa isn’t going to want them - the only sweet he’s really fond of is milk bread - but when he’s in a better mood, it might make him feel better to know that they did something nice for him. 

 

The day is nothing if not rough.

Oikawa struggles to get around - as the day wears on, it becomes more obvious that he’s in pain. He’s getting irritated, and at lunch time, Hanamaki and Matsukawa don’t even give him any grief, picking up on his frustration. 

The final bell rings, but their day isn’t over.

Oikawa previously agreed to still help out at volleyball practice. He wants to help Yahaba get used to being the new captain, after all.  _ He’s got big shoes to fill! _ Oikawa had said with a laugh.

Hajime wishes he could talk him out of it when Oikawa looks about ready to start crying on their walk over, but he’s far too stubborn for his own good. He’s just grateful when he can sit Oikawa down on the bench and their coach keeps him busy, talking strategies. 

The team all look at Oikawa’s brace with concern, but Hajime doesn’t have to say anything. Hanamaki and Matsukawa are giving off strong enough  _ don’t fucking go there _ vibes that even Kindaichi picks up on them, so it’s alright.

“Yahaba-chan!” Oikawa waves over his kouhai, patting the seat next to him. He seems to be in better spirits, talking volleyball and giving advice to the team - some unsolicited, apparently, at the way Yahaba blushes right up to his ears and sputters at Oikawa.

Oikawa laughs, and - yeah. It’s been too long since he’s done that. Hajime just watches him, smiling dumbly, until Hanamaki comes up beside him and smacks him on the back.

“You’re lookin’ a little starry-eyed there,  _ Iwa-chan _ ,” he teases, snorting with laughter when Hajime turns around and decks him in the shoulder.

Oikawa looks at them, confused, but he just gives him a wave to show him it’s not a big deal. 

Matsukawa snorts from across the court and he wishes that he’d had the sense to choose friends who weren’t such assholes.

  
At the end of practice, Oikawa waits in the parking lot for his mom, kicking some stones with his foot. “You sure you wanna come? You don’t have to,” Oikawa says, not looking at Hajime. When did he get so damn passive?

“Yes,” Hajime confirms, putting his bag down against the building. 

“It might… It might be bad.” Oikawa sighs and leans back on the bench he’s sitting on. “It’s probably gonna hurt a lot.”

Hajime watches him move, lifting an eyebrow. “Do you not want me to see your ugly crying face? Have you forgotten how many times I saw it as a kid?”

Oikawa turns to him, his nervousness shifting to amusement. “Iwa-chan!”

“It’s true and you know it,” Hajime responds, lips quirking up into a smile. “You cried every time you fell - which was a lot. You were so clumsy.” 

“How about all the times you  _ pushed me _ ?” Oikawa huffs, crossing his arms. “Why did I get such a brute for a best friend?”

Hajime laughs, but doesn’t get the chance to respond when Oikawa’s mom pulls up to take them to Oikawa’s appointment. He’s glad for the distraction - it keeps him from thinking about just how nervous he is about this all.

He wants to go, and he wants to support Oikawa, but he’s scared.

He wants it to go well. He wants Oikawa to get better, and he knows that physiotherapy can be ugly.

Apparently, the first appointment is especially ugly.

 

Oikawa cries.

Hajime feels so useless, so he does the only thing he can think of - he takes Oikawa’s hand, letting him squeeze to help release some of his pain. They used to do this a lot, as kids, and it always seemed to help him feel a little bit better.

Oikawa looks up at him, expression surprised, but doesn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezes Hajime’s hand tightly, threading their fingers together. He lets his eyes slide closed again, nodding as the physiotherapist helps him through another stretch. Hajime watches, listening intently so that he remembers how to do them correctly. 

Oikawa doesn’t let go of his hand until they’re tucked back into his mom’s car and he can finally breathe again. He smooths his hand down the brace on his leg, looking down at it angrily.

“How about dinner?” Oikawa’s mom suggests, looking back at the two of them. Hajime nods, but Oikawa doesn’t answer, just looking out the window of the car.

Oikawa’s uncharacteristically silent the entire time. He picks away at his meal - a spicy curry, one of his favourites, too - and only gives noncommittal answers. Hajime’s left to pick up the conversation, which isn’t his forte, but he manages just fine.

"So nice taking my boys out! To be accompanied by such handsome young men!" Oikawa’s mom laughs, and Hajime hides a blush, coughing into his glass of water. Oikawa at least looks up at this, sputtering in embarrassment.

Of course, she knows just how to get Oikawa up and moving out of his funk - even if it’s just temporarily. Hajime smiles, and looks over at Oikawa, who looks back at him, red in the face.

Oikawa’s mom just laughs and continues the conversation. "Hajime-kun, always taking care of Tooru, remember when you used to cover him in alien bandages even at the slightest itch?” She chuckles, and Oikawa whines in embarrassment, hiding back into his bowl of curry. It gets him to eat, though, and their dinner continues with a little bit of a lighter atmosphere. 

Before Hajime knows it, he’s back at home, stepping out of the car and saying goodbye to Oikawa.

He doesn’t get much of a response from him - he’s clearly still in pain, and Hajime doesn’t know how to help. He heads inside his home, dropping his bag and getting himself ready for bed. He has homework to do but… he can’t focus. He has too much on his mind. He’s still thinking about Oikawa when he slides into bed after a shower and his phone pings.

He almost ignores it, but ends up picking it up. It’s from Oikawa.

 

_ thanks for coming with me. sry i didn’t say it before, the pain was making me really grumpy ( ≧Д≦) _

 

Hajime snorts a little, sending him a quick reply.

 

_ You’re welcome. Get some rest, see you at school tomorrow. _

* * *

The weeks that follow are tough.

Oikawa has physiotherapy appointments weekly, and the physiotherapist gives him a laundry list of stretches and workouts that he needs to complete every day. 

All of which Oikawa absolutely hates doing because _it_ _hurts_ , but Hajime doesn’t let him slack off. 

They meet up in the mornings before school, Hajime welcoming himself into Oikawa’s house, and then his bedroom. He kicks him out of bed when necessary, shaking him until he’s up and ready to start their day.

“ _ Iwa-chan _ ,” he whines one morning after finishing his first calf stretches, “it  _ hurts. _ ” He’s breathing a little hard, and Hajime knows he’s not just making it up to get out of this.

“I know,” Hajime assures him, moving to sit down behind him, hands on his back to help him stretch better. “Almost done, okay?”

Oikawa nods, leaning his weight back against Hajime, letting him help move him where he needs to be.

Hajime lingers a bit longer than necessary, fighting a blush by the time that he pulls away.

  
  


Oikawa’s mom doesn’t always come with them to the physiotherapy appointments. She works late some days, and Hajime gets into the habit of taking Oikawa there himself. His dad doesn’t mind him borrowing the car - he’s a good driver, after all - and Oikawa starts, slowly, being more honest with Hajime, and letting him know exactly how he’s doing.

After a particularly rough appointment, Hajime helps Oikawa into the front seat of his car, noting his silence. Oikawa doesn’t say anything as they start to drive, not until they get closer to his house.

“Can we… not go home yet?” Oikawa asks, his voice small and pained. He looks over at Hajime, who meets his eye for a moment before looking back at the road.   
Hajime nods, “Sure. Where do you wanna go?”

“I don’t care,” Oikawa shrugs, “Just… not home.”

With a nod, Hajime flicks on his signal, turning in the opposite direction of home. He lets Oikawa turn on the radio, picking their usual station. The music’s not too loud that they couldn’t talk if they wanted to, but not so quiet that Oikawa will get lost in his thoughts. 

They drive for what feels like hours, down unfamiliar roads and all the side streets in town. Hajime doesn’t pay attention to where he’s going, just glancing over occasionally at Oikawa-

Until he notices that he’s fallen asleep. 

Oikawa’s curled up in the seat, head resting back on the seat, expression relaxed.

Hajime stops only so that he can pull of his sweatshirt and drape it around Oikawa before continuing their drive, going for as long as he can.

He takes the long way back to Oikawa’s house, too. 

  
  


Oikawa wears the sweatshirt to school the next day like it’s fresh out of his own wardrobe.

Nobody notices except for Hajime - and that, for some reason, makes it all the more special.

  
  


Oikawa wears his knee brace faithfully.

It’s great for keeping his knee in place, preventing further injury - but it  _ chafes. _

By the time he gets home at the end of the day, he’s ready to fling it off and into the void - only he can’t. He can only take it off for brief periods, and taking it off one night, he notices that the rash it’s leaving is getting more and more irritated.

He whines as he touches it, frowning. Hajime looks up from where he’s picking out a movie for them to watch - he’s gotten in the habit of walking Oikawa home, and staying at least until his mom comes home from work, on days when he has no appointments.

“What is it?” He asks, popping a DVD into the player before he goes. He drops himself down next to Oikawa, who just gestures to his knee.

“This fucking thing chafes so bad,” he complains, sighing. “I can only take it off for so long and it doesn’t seem to do much.”

Hajime hums, before getting an idea. “Hey, just a sec.” He bolts up and into the bathroom, where he’s sure he saw something in the medicine cabinet-

Ah, yeah. There it is. He grabs one of the small bottles, carrying it back to the living room.

“This should help,” he says, sitting down next to Oikawa and popping the cap off the bottle. He squirts some on his hand - it’s cool to the touch, and a little heavy. He looks to Oikawa for confirmation before gently reaching down to touch where it hurts.

Oikawa hisses, his leg twitching, but he keeps it faithfully still while Hajime rubs the cream on his rash. He moves slowly, rubbing circles to his skin, ensuring that it all gets absorbed into his skin before getting more and repeating the process. Oikawa sighs, letting him know that it’s helping.

Good.

Oikawa turns on the movie, and Hajime repeats the process every now and then, when he can. He half-watches the movie, much more interested in the way Oikawa’s skin feels beneath his fingers.

His touches become absent-minded, moving from just below his knee, to right above-

Moving a  _ little _ too high, and Hajime is acutely aware of how Oikawa shivers when he touches the sensitive skin of his upper thigh.

Hajime withdraws his hand pretty quickly, but that goes right up on the list of things that he likes doing to Oikawa, but he can’t quite explain why.

Or, well, he can.

He just isn’t sure that he wants to.

  
  


It’s a Tuesday when Hajime comes to Oikawa’s house later than usual.

His mom had a huge list of chores that he had to do - he informed Oikawa, who waved it off as no big deal.  _ You don’t need to babysit me every night, Iwa-chan! _

Of course, though, he still comes by as soon as he’s finished. 

He steps into Oikawa’s house, knocking on the door as he steps in. “Oikawa?” He calls, the house eerily quiet.

“Kitchen!” Is the response he gets, so Hajime kicks off his shoes, walking over to the kitchen where he finds Oikawa sitting at the counter, looking thoughtful.

Hajime looks at him curiously, dropping down next to him. “Everything okay?”

Oikawa nods slowly. “Yeah. Fine, Iwa-chan!”

If  _ that _ isn’t the worst lie ever told, Hajime’s not sure what is. “Seriously. You’re a shit liar, Oikawa, and you know that.”

He gets a groan in response. “That’s just not fair. You have, like, a lie detector superpower!” He huffs, looking away and out the window. He looks thoughtful, and a little confused. It makes Hajime’s stomach twist.

“You know you can tell me whatever… right?” 

Oikawa nods slowly. “Yeah. It’s just… I dunno what I’m gonna do about it.” He sighs, and reaches across the counter, picking up a letter in an envelope. He passes it to Hajime, who recognizes the name on the front right away-

It’s Oikawa’s  _ dream school. _

“Did you…” Hajime’s mouth feels dry. “Did you get in?”

Oikawa doesn’t respond at first, and Hajime feels nervous. He’s about to open his mouth and ask again, but Oikawa beats him to the punch. “I… I- Yeah. They offered me a scholarship, Hajime.” He laughs, and Hajime is struck by how happy he looks - it’s beautiful.

Hajime breaks out into a smile. “And you didn’t think you’d get in.” Oikawa meets his gaze, and his smile only grows.

“You knew that I would, though.” He grins, and looks down at the letter. “The offer… it’s contingent on my recovery, though. They’ll need my doctor to okay it, and… and my doctor… he wants me to get surgery, if I’m gonna be continuing with volleyball. It… it should make my knee more stable, but he said there are no guarantees.”

Hajime nods, slowly. “So… you’re not sure if you want to do the surgery.”

Oikawa hums. “Yeah. I… I just need to think about it for a bit, I think.”

Hajime wants to yell at him  _ take the damn scholarship, you idiot! _ but he holds back that thought because it finally catches up with him that Oikawa just called him  _ Hajime. _

* * *

In the following weeks, Oikawa gets more and more comfortable with shamelessly taking advantage of Hajime’s offer to help him, when he needs it.

More often than not, it’s little things. Helping him with his stretches, or carrying his things when he’s got a lot of homework for the evening. Sometimes it’s helping put his brace on or take it off, and other times - Oikawa’s favourite thing, actually - is having Hajime help dry his hair.

He’s meticulous about it, and does a better job than Oikawa does himself (not that he’d ever admit that). 

He lets Oikawa settle in front of him on his bed, and starts off with the hair dryer. He keeps the setting on warm, and the heat on Oikawa’s neck feels so, so relaxing.

Sometimes he hums while he works - Oikawa finds himself closing his eyes, one evening, when Hajime is humming along to some song he picked that’s playing from his laptop. It’s old, and Oikawa couldn’t care less about the song - but hearing Hajime hum it makes it special.

He doesn’t hum enough, really, if Oikawa’s honest. Hajime isn’t very chatty and although Oikawa loves hearing the sound of his voice, he doesn’t get the opportunity to very often.

But here, when he’s quiet, and the atmosphere is relaxed, Hajime lets his walls down and is more open.

Oikawa loves moments like this just as much as Hajime, who loves seeing how relaxed Oikawa looks whenever he touches his hair.

His eyes flutter between open and closed while Hajime’s drying his hair, and as soon as Hajime starts to massage some styling cream into his hair with his fingers the way Oikawa insists - well, he’s pretty much gone then. He looks so content, eyes closed and small smile on his lips that Hajime really,  _ really _ wants to kiss.

He doesn’t really think about it. He just does it.

Hajime leans down, and Oikawa opens his eyes as soon as he starts to move. He stays perfectly still as Hajime hovers just above his face, close enough that he can feel his breaths tickling his skin-

And he kisses him.

It’s a soft, sweet kiss, a little hesitant. Oikawa kisses him back immediately - Hajime feels so, so good at feeling that, his grip on Oikawa tightening the closer they get, the closer he  _ feels _ to him.

It’s not a long kiss by any measure, but he still feels breathless when he pulls back, eyes fluttering open and a blush on his cheeks. Oikawa’s red, too - eyes wide and fixed on Hajime.

“Sorry, but I’ve been dying to do that,” Hajime chuckles, fingers brushing some hair from Oikawa’s face. Oikawa’s blushing up to the tips of his ears-

Cute.

“It… it’s okay…” He mumbles, looking between Hajime and his hands, “Y-you can do that again… If you want…”

Hajime’s smile brightens. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

He leans down and kisses him again, the second sweeter than the first.

* * *

Everything changes - yet somehow, at the same time, nothing changes.

They already spent their days together, at school and after school, so it’s not a big shift for them to do continue doing these things together.

Somehow though, it only takes Hanamaki and Matsukawa a day to figure out that something’s changed. They spend the day with Hajime and Tooru, as usual, and it’s not like they immediately start holding hands together, or making out in the hallways, so Hajime has no idea how they figure it out.

But they do.

The pair corner them after volleyball practice, when Hajime is helping Tooru down to the parking lot to his car so that they can head home.

“Hey! Iwaizumi, Oikawa!” Hanamaki calls to them from up the steps, taking two at a time to come down and meet them, Matsukawa trailing behind him. “Where are you two off to?”

Hajime and Tooru exchange a look. “We’re going to get some food…” Tooru answers, looking at Hanamaki with some (understandable) nervousness. You never know what these two are up to. 

“Ah, nice. Mind if we tag along? I’m famished.” Matsukawa holds his stomach, looking pained. “Haven’t eaten since lunch!”

“You mean the normal time you should have eaten last?” Hajime looks at him a little incredulously.

“Yes, whatever, whatever - you don’t mind, do you?” Hanamaki looks straight at Tooru, who can’t seem to hold his eye and looks away, not answering.

Well, Hajime’s not letting the fucking meme team tag along to his and Tooru’s first proper date. He reaches over to take Tooru’s hand, feeling him tense up at the action, but he doesn’t pull away.

“Yeah, actually, I do mind. We’re going out on a date, so you two are on your own.” Hajime tugs a little on Tooru’s hand, and Tooru - his  _ boyfriend _ , he thinks, with purpose - follows along, right up until he climbs into the passenger seat of his car. 

Tooru’s quiet while Hajime buckles himself in and starts up the car. Then, “A date, Iwa-chan?”

Hajime focuses on the steering wheel, trying not to blush. “Yeah. That’s what I said.”

Tooru nods, biting his lip. “So… does that mean we’re dating?”

He puts the car into drive, shrugging his shoulders. “Do you want that?”  _ Yes, yes  _ yes-

“Yeah.” Tooru nods, and smiles brightly. “I really do.”

Even Hajime can’t hide his grin. “Good. Me too.” 

Tooru laughs, breaking the tension, and he turns on the radio to their favourite station.

They fall into their usual conversation - and it’s great. 

They stop to grab some food - it’s nowhere fancy, just a food truck down at the park, but it’s special to them. They spent countless nights here as kids, playing and laughing and  _ talking _ , learning about each other and about life.

They’re learning about each other all over again, in a way. Hajime learns how much Tooru loves being close to him, in any capacity. When they’re sitting on one of the park benches eating their food, he leans in close - and when Hajime wraps his arm around him, he lets out a contented hum and relaxes in a little closer. 

Along that same line, Hajime can see Tooru learning things, and changing his behaviour as they go along. He picks up on how much Hajime likes hearing him say his name -  _ Iwa-chan _ is all but gone from his vocabulary, replaced with a much smoother, sweeter-sounding  _ Hajime _ .

Every time Tooru says it, he feels his heart get a little bit lighter.

After they finish eating, neither are in a rush to get home, so they sit together on that park bench, leaning back and looking at the stars.

Tooru still remembers all the constellations, and points out the ones they can make out. The stars aren’t too bright tonight, so they can’t see much - but mostly, Hajime just likes listening to the sound of Tooru’s voice as he talks, and the excitement about the stars.

Hajime forces Tooru up and back to the car when he starts yawning, dropping him off at home far later than intended - but Tooru leans across the seat and gives Hajime a goodbye kiss before he goes that makes it all worth it.

* * *

Hajime doesn’t even need to knock when he comes to Tooru’s house anymore.

The door’s usually open, anyway - and besides, he knows where they stash the spare key, hidden beneath a little garden statue of a hedgehog that Tooru insisted he needed for his tenth birthday because  _ it looks just like Iwa-chan, mom! _

He makes his way in, taking off his shoes and stepping into the house slippers Tooru delegated as his. He takes a moment to greet Tooru’s mother, who is working in the kitchen.

“Will you be staying for dinner, Hajime-kun?” She asks, and Hajime nods gratefully.

“Yes, that’d be great. Thank you.” He turns and heads up the stairs, going straight for Tooru’s room. 

The door is open, and he walks right in. Tooru’s sitting at his desk, leg elevated, scrolling around on his laptop. He’s wearing that sweatshirt of  _ Hajime’s _ that he’s kept this entire time. It’s a bit big, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“Tooru hey,” Hajime greets, stepping closer. Tooru squeaks in surprise and whips around to see him, jostling his leg in the process. He winces, reaching down to adjust his brace. Hajime stops right in front of him, reaching out for him; Tooru meets him halfway and twines their fingers together. 

“Hajime, hey, I didn’t know you-”

“What are you looking at?” Hajime interrupts, stepping closer. He knows that website Tooru is on... It’s the website of the university Hajime has been considering.

_ Not _ the one that Tooru’s received a scholarship for.

“Is that what I think it is?” Hajime asks. His hands fall slack to his sides, but Tooru doesn’t let go.

“Yes, um, well - surprise?” Tooru laughs, nervously.

“I… I don’t get it.” Hajime looks from the computer to Tooru, “I thought… Your scholarship?”

Tooru sighs, shrugging his shoulders. He plays with Hajime’s fingers, his new nervous habit, ever since they started dating. “Well, I just… I don’t know if the surgery will work, you know? I don’t know if I want to go through with it all if it might not work. I… I’ve been thinking of declining the scholarship and going with you instead.”

Hajime doesn’t react at first. He slowly pulls his hand back, and Tooru lets go when Hajime pulls, letting his hands fall into his lap. He looks around, everywhere except at Hajime.

When Hajime finally  _ does _ react, it’s with more emotion than he would have thought, surprising himself.

“Are you  _ serious?!” _ Hajime’s voice is louder than Tooru expected it to be, and he looks away, not wanting to face it. “You can’t do that. Don’t be a fucking idiot, Tooru.” He grits his teeth, trying to keep his temper at bay.

Tooru is still staring at the floor. “I don’t need a lecture, Hajime!”

“You’re right! You’re smarter than this!” He steps into Tooru’s space, closing the gap between them and grabbing his jaw with a hand, just on the side of rough. “You can’t give this up. You can get better. You can get the surgery, you can do the therapy, you can  _ get better _ \- but you can’t do any of that unless you take the damn scholarship!” 

Tooru finally meets his eye, and his eyes are wide, and full of something else-

Fear?

“I’m not worth this. It’s our last year of high school. Who knows what will happen after this? I might not even get into that school. We… might be apart anyway.” He loosens his grip on Tooru, his hand falling slack to his side. It’s not what he wants, but it might be what they  _ need _ .

Tooru doesn’t move. He stares at him, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

“If you aren’t willing to try, then neither am I. I’m not letting you give this up. If I’m what’s holding you back… I.. I don’t know if I want to be together anymore.”

His voice drops, and he has to force himself to breathe. One deep breath in, another out.

Tooru doesn’t respond.

Hajime takes that as all the answer he needs.

“Okay.” Hajime takes a step back, turning away from Tooru, who still isn’t moving. “I-I need some space. I need to think about this.” 

His heart is somewhere between his throat and his chest cavity, and he has to actively force his feet to move. He steps right out of Tooru’s room, down the stairs and out the front door, completely ignoring Tooru’s confused mother talking to him on the way out.

He gets a breath of fresh air, and-

It’s raining.

Fucking great.

He can’t stop, though. His feet are on autopilot now, and he steps down the stairs, following the path leading away from Tooru’s place.

It’s then that he hears the door whip open behind him. 

“Hajime!” It’s Tooru, it’s Tooru, it’s  _ Tooru _ -

No.  _ You’re doing this for him,  _ he reminds himself, steeling his resolve. 

“Hajime,  _ wait, _ it’s pouring rain-” Tooru curses under his breath, and Hajime can feel his desperation. It takes everything in him to not stop, to not agree to everything Tooru wants.

“Wait,  _ stop!”  _ Tooru’s voice is still loud, but Hajime ignores it, waiting for him to give up. He turns out of Tooru’s lot, heading down the road.

What’s the point, when he’s destined for the stars - and Hajime is just going to keep him tethered to Earth? What’s the point, when they’re asking for nothing but pain?

But Tooru is nothing if not stubborn, and he doesn’t stop. He lets out a frustrated groan, and dashes out into the street, footsteps loud against the concrete.

“ _ Hajime!” _

That gets his attention - the  _ idiot, why is he running on his bad knee?! _ Hajime turns, just in time for Tooru to skid to a stop, inches away. He’s breathing hard from running - wincing and straightening out his leg, adjusting his brace - but he looks determined. 

Like he’s ready to throw himself in the fire, damning the consequences. 

It’s as inspiring as it is terrifying.

"I don't _ care _ !” He meets Hajime’s gaze and there’s fire in his eyes, “I don't  _ care _ that this is our last year of highschool, I… I don't  _ care _ that we might be apart after that - I love you, and I want to be with you. I want this to be  _ you _ ! We've gotten through so much, Hajime - we can get through anything."

Silence surrounds them. Tooru’s breathing slows and regulates, but he’s standing firm. Tall.

Proud.

Hajime sighs, conceding. He looks up and watches the way the rain slides down Tooru's face, following every dip and crevice of his skin just as he's craved to touch him this entire time.   
And now Tooru is giving him permission to.

“Fine,” he says, expression lightening. “So you’re not going to give up?”

Tooru nods, swallowing back tears. “I won’t give up.” He takes a tentative step closer, as if afraid that Hajime won’t be there to meet him.

But he is - he meets him in the middle, reaching out, lacing their fingers together. Tooru holds on for dear life, and Hajime is quick to draw him back in close.

“No more running on your bad knee,” he says, seriously, feeling it when Tooru’s weight dips against him. “And I love you too,” Hajime answers,  _ finally, _ and Tooru draws in a sharp breath, laughter on his lips.

Everything seems more manageable, like this. Nothing is insurmountable, nothing is  _ impossible _ \- not when they’re together.

Hajime presses into Tooru’s space, smiling when he rubs their noses together, earning him a laugh from Tooru. He cannot  _ believe _ he’s about to partake in the biggest cliche of all time, but, well, for Tooru-

It’s worth it.

He closes the distance between them, kissing him, uncaring about the rain pouring down around them. Tooru gasps into the kiss, melting against him, lips warm and inviting and exactly what Hajime needs to feel.

If Tooru’s willing to try, then so is he - because this is definitely something worth fighting for.

**Author's Note:**

> I owe so many people thanks for this fic!! If it weren't for the help of some of my amazing, wonderful, patient and talented friends this wouldn't have happened. Much thanks to French, Heather, JJ and Amalas for beta reading, throwing around ideas with me and dealing with my whiny ass the entire time. I love you all! <3


End file.
